Notes: Aim:  To evaluate the incidence, nature and prognosis of multiple primary malignancies involving renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in Japan.Methods: Between 1975 and 1998, 319 patients underwent an operation for RCC at Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. The incidence of other primary malignancies was determined and classified as antecedent, synchronous or subsequent. Follow-up was obtained by thorough chart review or telephone interview, and ranged from 0 to 276 months (median 49.0 months). To analyze the influence of other primary malignancies on prognosis, overall and cause-specific survival rates of the patients with an antecedent or synchronous malignancy were compared to the remaining patients.Results:  Of the 319 patients there was at least one other malignancy in 38 patients (12%). Four patients had two other malignancies. The other malignancies were antecedent in 13, synchronous in 19 and subsequent in 10 patients. Twenty-two patients had gastrointestinal cancer. In cases of antecedent or synchronous diagnosis of other primary malignancies, RCC was commonly incidental, small or low-stage. Multivariate analysis using Cox's proportional hazards model showed that, for overall survival, the presence of other antecedent or synchronous malignancies was the second most significant prognostic factor, following the pathological stage of RCC.Conclusions: In Japanese patients with RCC, the incidence of other primary malignancies was not uncommon and these malignancies contributed to the prognosis of these patients. Therefore, the malignant potential of individual tumors should be paid careful attention in the management of these patients.

Notes: Abstract Objectives: The present study was carried out to evaluate the accuracy of helical computed tomography (CT) and intravenous digital subtraction angiography (IV-DSA) on anatomical assessment of renal vasculature for living renal donors.Methods: Forty-two healthy potential renal donors were prospectively evaluated and 35 subsequently underwent donor nephrectomy after helical CT and IV-DSA evaluation. The vascular and non-vascular findings were compared between the findings on helical CT, IV-DSA and surgery.Results: Ten prehilar branches and five accessory renal arteries were found at nephrectomy. Overall, operative findings agreed with the findings by IV-DSA in 89% and by helical CT in 83%. In delineating accessory arteries, IV-DSA had a sensitivity of 60% and specificity of 97%, whereas helical CT had a sensitivity of 40% and specificity of 100%. In delineating prehilar branches, IV-DSA had a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 100%, whereas helical CT had a sensitivity of 70% and specificity of 100%. Accessory arteries and prehilar branches that were not detected by helical CT or IV-DSA, were less than 2 mm in diameter and did not require vascular reconstruction. Renal veins were delineated in 63% by IV-DSA, whereas they were clearly imaged by helical CT in all cases, including a case with a circumaortic renal vein. Non-vascular findings were obtained in 64% by helical CT, including two renal tumors. None of these findings were obtained by IV-DSA.Conclusion: Helical CT and IV-DSA provide comparably sufficient information on renal artery vasculature. However, helical CT provides significantly more information on venous and non-vascular findings as a single-imaging modality.

Notes: Background: Renal denervation and re-innervation may affect vascular responses to sympathomimetics, which may play a role in the maintainance of renal blood flow (RBF) following renal transplantation. The purpose of the present study was to elucidate pharmacological alteration of the renal sympathetic response following kidney transplantation. Using the rat kidney transplantation model, we focused on responses to various sympathomimetics in order to investigate the effects of sympathetic denervation and functional re-modulation mechanisms in the transplanted kidney.Methods: Male isogenic rats underwent unilateral kidney denervation or kidney transplantation accompanied by unilateral native nephrectomy. Renal blood flow was evaluated using a laser Doppler flow meter following bolus injection of 50 μg/kg dopamine and continuous infusion of 60 μg/min phenylephrine (PE) at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 240 days after transplantation as well as at 30 days after denervation.Results: Bolus injection of dopamine (50 μg/kg) induced an initial reduction in RBF (that of α-adrenoceptors) followed by a long-lasting increase in RBF (that of β-adrenoceptors) in the native kidney. In grafted or denervated kidneys, the dopamine-induced decrease in RBF mediated by α-adrenoceptors was markedly enhanced, while the increase in RBF mediated by an action of dopamine on β-adrenoceptors was blunted. The effects of the post-transplant period on vascular responses to dopamine were significant, but not completely synchronized with the native kidney, even at 240 days. Continuous infusion of PE (60 μg/min) produced a gradual increase in RBF in the native kidney, whereas a sudden reduction (i.e. breakthrough in autoregulation) was observed in the denervated and transplanted kidney.Conclusions: The responses to sympathomimetics in the grafted kidney were shifted towards flow reduction (i.e. enhanced vasoconstriction via stimulation of α-adrenoceptors and blunted vasodilatation via stimulation of β-adrenoceptors. This functional impairment was recovered in a time-dependent manner. In addition, the hemodynamic autoregulation system in the kidney deteriorated following transplantation or denervation.

Notes: Background: We reviewed treatment results in patients with metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis and examined the significance of the International Consensus Prognostic Classification to make appropriate risk-based decisions concerning induction chemotherapy. Methods: We divided 37 patients treated with platinum-based combination chemotherapy into good, intermediate, and poor prognostic groups utilizing the International Consensus Prognostic Classification. The data was analyzed for both overall survival and progression-free survival among the 3 prognostic groups. Results: Among the 37 patients, 10 died (8 of progressive disease, 1 of pneumonia during induction chemotherapy and 1 of cyclophosphamide-induced hemorrhagic cardiomyolitis during salvage chemotherapy). The survivors were followed for 6 to 1 84 months from the beginning of induction chemotherapy (median, 80 months). Five of the 37 patients (14%) were classified as having a good prognosis, 18 (48%) as intermediate, and 14 (38%) as having a poor prognosis. The patients in the poor prognostic group had a 5-year overall survival of only 40%, while those in the good and intermediate groups had 5-year overall survivals of 100% and 94%, respectively. When we applied the International Consensus Prognostic Classification to patients with advanced disease classified by the Indiana University Staging System, these patients could be clearly divided into good-risk and poor-risk groups. Conclusions: The International Consensus Prognostic Classification is easily applicable and accurate for risk assessment in patients with metastatic nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis. This classification will now be widely used in general oncology practices and for clinical trials in these patients.

Notes: Objectives Urodynamic studies were performed to clarify vesicourethral dysfunction and recovery after rectal surgery for cancer. Materials and Methods At 1, and 6 to 12 months after rectal surgery interviews and urodynamic studies (UDS) were performed on 51 consecutive patients, all without a prior history of voiding disorder (40 males and 11 females; median age, 60 years). Patients were divided into 2 groups, either with (preserved group, n = 17) or without (nonpreserved group, n = 34) preservation of the bilateral pelvic plexus during surgery. Comparisons of voiding status and urodynamic parameters were made between the 2 groups. Results By 1 and 6 months after the operation normal voiding was achieved in 71 % (12/17) and 100% (13/13) of patients in the preserved group, and 6% (2/34) and 30% of patients (9/30) in the nonpreserved group, respectively (P〈 0.001). Attainment of normal voiding in the nonpreserved group was preceded by the recovery of bladder sensation, while UDS demonstrated increases in vesical compliance and the disappearance of vesical denervation supersensitivity. Conclusion A nerve-sparing procedure during radical surgery for rectal carcinoma preserved vesicourethral function. The urodynamic parameters relevant to postoperative recovery of voiding function were improved vesical compliance, disappearance of vesical denervation supersensitivity, and recovery of a bladder filling sensation.

Notes: Background Vesicourethral function returns after radical rectal surgery during the first year but rarely progresses after 1 year. We examined the urodynamics of patients whose voiding dysfunction remained after 1 year, and treated several with a modified sphincterotomy procedure similar to radical transurethral resection of the prostate. Methods We analyzed the urodynamic features of vesicourethral dysfunction in 16 male patients with persistent voiding dysfunction for more than 1 year following radical surgery for rectal carcinoma. Seven patients elected to undergo radical transurethral resection of prostate (radical TUR-P) for the relief of their persistent voiding dysfunction. Results The mean bladder volume at the first desire to void was 210 mL, the mean maximal bladder capacity was 343 mL, and the mean vesical compliance (Cves) was 27.1 mL/cm H2O. All patients demonstrated either vesical denervation supersensitivity (Vds) or uninhibited contraction. The mean maximal urethral closure pressure was 43.9 cm H2O, and urethral denervation supersensitivity was found in 77.8% (7/9), and sphincter dyssynergia in 66.7% (6/9) of patients. After radical TUR-P, 5 patients became free from the use of self-catheterization, 1 patient had a reduced residual urine rate, and 1 patient was unchanged, but no patient noted a change in urinary control. Conclusion Urethral dysfunction after radical rectal surgery was caused by failure of the bladder to empty along with an underactive detrusor. Radical TUR-P was effective in restoring voiding function in a selected group of these patients.

Notes: Background To assess the feasibility of urodynamic study under general anesthesia (GA) we performed electromyography of the external urethral sphincter (EUS-EMG) on 73 children and cystometry (CM) alone on 10 children. Methods Subjects were divided into 3 groups. Those in groups I and II were suspected of having voiding dysfunction with (group I) or without (group II) overt neurospinal defects, while those in group III were thought to be functionally normal. EUS-EMG was performed under light anesthesia following cystourethroscopy to examine structural abnormalities. Atropine sulfate premedication was not used for the anesthetic procedure; muscle relaxants were used only for tracheal intubation. Results Voiding was observed in 83% of the patients. Among patients who voided, detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) was noted in 7 (38%) group I patients and 6 (19%) group II patients; in group III, voiding was synergic in all patients. In 10 cases, CM alone was carried out both under anesthesia and in the waking state; anesthesia suppressed detrusor hyperreflexia (DH) in all 9 patients but produced no change in bladder compliance. Conclusions In children with urinary disorders, urodynamic study under GA following cystourethroscopy is a feasible method for assessing EUS function and documenting DSD; DH is not evaluable, however. Stratifying urinary management on the basis of these examinations resulted in satisfactory clinical outcomes.

Notes: Abstract Background: Renal transplantation is a definitive therapeutic modality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Most ESRD patients in Japan experience dialysis prior to renal transplantation. The present study was undertaken to examine the usefulness of pre-emptive renal transplantation (PET).Methods: Between 1987 and 1998, 255 renal transplantations were carried out by the authors. Among those consecutive cases, 10 were cases of PET. In nine pediatric cases, demographics, graft and patient survival, height growth and benefits from successful transplantation were studied and compared with age-matched dialyzed transplantation controls.Results: All transplantation was living-related. There was a disparity of causes of ESRD between the two groups. In PET, acquired renal deterioration due to a congenital lower urinary tract disorder was the major cause. Graft and patient prognosis was favorable in both groups. Growth retardation in PET patients under 15 years of age was significantly less apparent at the time of transplantation and after 3 years compared to the control. The benefits from transplantation were different in the two groups. Most PET patients felt an improvement of their physical condition; however, all of the control patients felt that the major boon was the freedom from the restriction of the daily diet and time for dialysis.Conclusion: In pediatric renal transplantation, short-term preceding dialysis does not have a detrimental effect, but PET could benefit ESRD patients by maintaining their quality of life. Moreover, PET minimizes the production of renal dwarfism in prepubertal children. Thus, PET should be taken into consideration in the choice of renal replacement therapy.

Notes: A patient with ectopic pheochromocytoma that developed in the spermatic cord about 5 years after successive resections of bilateral carotid body tumors and bilateral adrenal pheochromocytomas is reported. This is thought to be the first case of pheochromocytoma of the spermatic cord in a setting of multiplicity.

Notes: Purpose : We report three cases of enterocolitis associated with pathogenic Escherichia coli infection in renal transplant recipients. Methods/Results : Patients presented with abdominal pain and diarrhea at 1, 3 and 7 years after living-related renal transplantation. Pathogens of enterocolitis were identified by stool culture as verotoxin-2-producing O157:H7 E. coli, non-verotoxin-producing E. coli 06 and 0125. All patients were basically treated with fluid replacement with additional fosfomycin administration in the patient with O157:H7 E. coli infection. Immunosuppressive drugs were kept at maintenance doses throughout the treatment. Conclusion : All patients recovered uneventfully within 10 days after the onset of enterocolitis without severe complications.